Huawei CFO suing Canada over December arrest

Alexander Bibik | Reuters

Meng Wanzhou, Executive Board Director of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, attends a session of the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling!” in Moscow, Russia October 2, 2014.

The lawyers for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou are suing the Canadian government, its border agency and federal police, alleging their client was detained, searched and interrogated for three hours in violation of her constitutional rights.

Canada arrested Meng in Vancouver on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which has brought sweeping charges against her and China’s Huawei Technologies Co that portray the company as a threat to U.S. national security. Meng was charged with bank and wire fraud to violate American sanctions against Iran.

In a civil lawsuit filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court on Friday, Meng’s lawyers said the manner in which officers obtained evidence and information from Meng constituted serious violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Meng is the daughter of Huawei’s founder.

It added that Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers deliberately delayed the immediate execution of an arrest warrant and unlawfully subjected Meng to detention, search and interrogation to extract evidence from her before she was arrested.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police — Canada’s federal police — only exercised its arrest warrant three hours after Meng’s “unlawful” detention at the airport, the lawsuit added.

There was no immediate response from Canada’s justice ministry or the RCMP. The CBSA said it did not comment on matters before the courts.